US OFAC Warning: Paying Iran the "Strait of Hormuz Transit Fee" through digital assets and other forms carries sanctions risks

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has noted Iran's threats to shipping and its demands for "tolls" to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. These demands may include various payment methods, such as fiat currency, digital assets, offset arrangements, informal swaps, or other physical forms of payment, such as nominal charitable donations to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, the Bonyad Mostazafan Foundation, or accounts of Iranian embassies.

OFAC issued this warning to remind U.S. and non-U.S. entities that making payments to the Iranian regime or seeking passage guarantees carries sanctions risks, regardless of the payment method. Under U.S. sanctions regulations, U.S. entities and their foreign entities that are owned or controlled are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with the Iranian government, including providing or receiving services, unless exempted or authorized. Additionally, U.S. entities are also prohibited from engaging in transactions with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is listed on multiple sanctions lists and designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

U.S. entities are also generally prohibited from trading with Iranian digital asset trading platforms, which are considered sanctioned Iranian financial institutions. Furthermore, non-U.S. entities that engage in unauthorized transactions with the Iranian government or IRGC may also face sanctions risks, including "secondary sanctions" on relevant financial institutions, restricting their access to the U.S. financial system. Conducting business with sanctioned Iranian digital asset trading platforms may also be viewed as supporting Iran's sanctioned financial system and could lead to sanctions. If relevant transactions result in U.S. entities (such as insurance companies, reinsurance firms, or financial institutions) violating sanctions regulations, non-U.S. entities may also face civil or criminal liability.